War of the spark is insane. I've only seen a fraction of what's out there, while I don't remember them by names yet, there is some seriously stupid stuff.
Ashiok, Dreamrender:
I got this card in a pack and I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing. What in the world is WOTC thinking? Because milling 20 cards isn't enough, they decided it was best to exile, and that's on top of all the cards they already have in their graveyard?
On the receiving end of this during a game, 2 of these completely decked me out to nothing, mind you I was using a 60 card deck and I already had about 10 cards in my graveyard already.
The fact that it's a plainswalker is troubling, considering that plainswalkers are not as easy to remove as say, creatures or enchantments.
On the other hand, there is a lot of weird junk that seems to be overshadowed by better stuff. And then there's some cards where you say "hmm, that's a good card, put I can't think of a deck that would use this".
One thing I can say is there is a lot of room for experimentation. Very diverse set of cards with it seems infinite deck concepts to explore.
I feel that this set in the current batch is both good and bad for a few reasons. One, this set is much stronger than the rest in the bunch and a lot of the other stuff won't be used anymore. On the other hand, this will open the door for a nice rich period of diversity in the decks you face against. People haven't really figured this set out yet, heck some like myself haven't even seen that much of it and I already know how strong it is.
The biggest welcome change that this set has brought is that I'm no longer playing mono red burn about 50% of the time anymore. Much to my delight, the new cards that I've gotten has given me an edge against that nonsense. I guess people must be dropping this deck for once because I hardly see it anymore.
All in all, I don't like the direction that magic is going in. I can't say I've liked that direction for some years now, but this is just one step further toward making everything an instant win card.
War of the spark is very fast and efficient, to a fault. My prediction is that long-winded control decks will take a hit while speed decks will dominate.
So I've had some more time to sift through some of the comments on my work breaks, now I'm home.
For starters,
I still stand by my original conclusion that cookie cutters are cancer to magic. I give props to the original deckmaker, whoever that might be, and no one else. Here's a challenge: Make an original deck that can stand up to most streamlined decks, if you can do that, then you know a thing or two about magic. Using someone else's deck does not require deep knowledge on the finer nuiances of the game, to know what works and more importantly, WHY. After deck building is taken out of the equation, you're most left with 'luck of the draw'. There is very little skill in the in-game decision making, the choices you make are usually obvious and only have a few each turn anyway. This isn't chess, where there are 18 possible moves in the first turn. ( I play chess BTW)
Don't get me wrong, I am by no means pro tier. I cannot make decks as refined as, say a mono red burn. I'm constantly swapping out cards, and I have a hard time stripping it down to 60 cards most of the time. My current best deck is 78 cards, however I've seen a few 200+card decks out there (don't really see the point but whatever). This is the area I struggle with the most, it's prioritizing. What do I want 4 of and what needs only 1?
Those who only play to win at all costs, or those who play aggro decks in order to grind out the daily rewards faster, you do realize that your opponent is also trying to grind it out? Playing a red burn deck makes it much harder for anyone else to grind especially because it seems like almost 50% of the people I play use this exact deck. I'm bloody tired of it.
Even if you think I'm an idiot and can't play because I can't beat this outrageous deck, you can't argue the fact that it's way too common online. This alone should send alarm bells that maybe it's popular for a reason, because it's that good. It would not be so common if it wasn't at least close to as good as I claim it is.
And lastly, if you're not playing tournaments, or money isn't on the line, then playing under the philosophy of "playing to win", is pointless. Why do people play games in the first place? Is it solely for the sake of winning? Or is it because they are fun to play?
We all know how good the red burn deck is. It's been played out a million times. Do something else if for no other reason than to mix things up and make things interesting again. Whatever you do, if you play me using a land destruction deck I will track you down and murder your whole family
What it's come down to is making a purely anti-red deck. Nothing but life gain and deck-out. I call it the "red can go **** itself" deck. It's my way of showing my middle finger to all the degenerate copy-cats who think they can play because someone else came up with the winning deck.
(I have not read all the responses just some of them) Some clarifications:
1-I have not played magic in over ten years and have only recently picked up Arena in the last 6 months. If people are referring to cards in the last few sets they might as well be talking chinese to me.
2-I refuse to use someone else's deck. My whole thing with magic is coming up with something no one else has done. It may not be the best deck in the world but it's mine and it's original, a concept that escapes some people.
3-I usually get to mythic tier after it resets within a few days. I know how to play magic, but it's not about winning at all costs. If it was, I have all the cards needed for that red burn deck but I refuse because to me it's like stealing someone's intellectual property.
4-A few people have suggested white weenie lifegain. I actually have a knight deck like that exactly. It kills many decks very quickly, but still loses to red burn because they just burn all the creatures and keep the train going with runaway steam kin and risk factor.
5-Gate decks are a joke. Seriously? Okay I will admit that when I first encountered this deck I thought It was OP, but then I figured that one out pretty quick. As a matter of fact I would even rate it as one of the worst cookie cutter decks that I've faced. Gate decks are way too slow for red burn.
6-I just wanted to make a point that I do, in fact, win most of my games. Most decks aren't too much of a problem. Mono Red burn is the only one that makes me rage because I never get a chance to do anything. Red having cheap burn alone isn't the problem, it's always been that way since 1994. The problem now In my honest opinion is that red has draw cards on par with blue, or arguably better because of the cheapness.
On a side note unrelated to the topic, I feel like green is kinda meh these days. Good as a support color but as a mono? Not so sure.
I deck I am using the most right now is your standard, classic blue/white control. The concept is nothing new but no one has a deck like mine. It's based around miriari Conjecture with tons of instants and sorcerys with counters, card draw,deck-out, sweeping spells and life gain. I ran into into a blue/red miriari conjecture deck and it gave me the inspiration. Out of all the decks I've made, this one has the most consistent wins. But then again, blue/white has always classically been a nasty combo.
Plainswalkers are new to me, and to be honest, I think they're a little unbalanced as a whole. I don't think you should be allowed to have more than 1 plainswalker in play at one time, but that's just my opinion.
The game as a whole got a lot more complicated from many years ago. There are too many synergies and triggers. Triggers in particular annoy me because I'm constantly clicking the resolve/resolve all button.
I've not memorized the names of all the current cards, but I remember what they do, so if you're replying to me listing various card names, either send a link to a picture or just tell me what it does.
I don't hate red as a whole,I just hate this red aggro/burn deck that I'm sure by now everyone has played a million times. There's not reason to describe in detail because you all know what I'm talking about.
1- it's a cookie cutter deck, down to the exact configuration. If you use this deck, congratulations! You copied someone else's idea! 90% of the skill involved is deck construction, you just completely took that out of the equation, because you have no soul, no originality, and no creativity.
2- the deck is a completely brain dead, one dimensional powerhouse. It can kill you by turn 3 or 4, kill all of your early creatures, and by the time you get bigger ones you're already dead.
3- no amount of life gain or creature control will stop the train. Red should not have better and faster card draw than blue. Risk factor is broken. Sure you can eat 4 damage, but the problem is that you're already taking a lot of direct damage anyway and most of the time can't afford the damage. So red basically gets a 3 mana-3 card draw with jump start. cheaper and more card draw than chemister's insight, one of blues best card draws. With so much cheap direct damage combined with awesome card draw, this deck is unstoppable. Or that red creature that gets +1's for casting red spells, and then dumping the counters for mana, for more cheap burn and card draw.
4- I have not come up with a single deck idea that can beat this. Nothing can weather the early storm, nothing, nada. Believe me when I tell you that I have dumped a ton of money into MTG arena and have over 10 different decks full of rares and mythics. Nothing can beat it. It's just flat out too fast.
5- 50% (at least) of the players I play online use this deck, to a tee. Need I say more? This deck is completely taking all the fun out, to the point where I will concede on turn 1 if I realize that they're playing this deck. What's the point in even trying? It's just a waste of time.
6-Red needs nerfs. Red didn't used to have so many cheap burn cards as they do now. I'm an old school magic player
Moved to Magic General from the Rumor Mill - Wildfire393
Ashiok, Dreamrender:
I got this card in a pack and I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing. What in the world is WOTC thinking? Because milling 20 cards isn't enough, they decided it was best to exile, and that's on top of all the cards they already have in their graveyard?
On the receiving end of this during a game, 2 of these completely decked me out to nothing, mind you I was using a 60 card deck and I already had about 10 cards in my graveyard already.
The fact that it's a plainswalker is troubling, considering that plainswalkers are not as easy to remove as say, creatures or enchantments.
On the other hand, there is a lot of weird junk that seems to be overshadowed by better stuff. And then there's some cards where you say "hmm, that's a good card, put I can't think of a deck that would use this".
One thing I can say is there is a lot of room for experimentation. Very diverse set of cards with it seems infinite deck concepts to explore.
I feel that this set in the current batch is both good and bad for a few reasons. One, this set is much stronger than the rest in the bunch and a lot of the other stuff won't be used anymore. On the other hand, this will open the door for a nice rich period of diversity in the decks you face against. People haven't really figured this set out yet, heck some like myself haven't even seen that much of it and I already know how strong it is.
The biggest welcome change that this set has brought is that I'm no longer playing mono red burn about 50% of the time anymore. Much to my delight, the new cards that I've gotten has given me an edge against that nonsense. I guess people must be dropping this deck for once because I hardly see it anymore.
All in all, I don't like the direction that magic is going in. I can't say I've liked that direction for some years now, but this is just one step further toward making everything an instant win card.
War of the spark is very fast and efficient, to a fault. My prediction is that long-winded control decks will take a hit while speed decks will dominate.
For starters,
I still stand by my original conclusion that cookie cutters are cancer to magic. I give props to the original deckmaker, whoever that might be, and no one else. Here's a challenge: Make an original deck that can stand up to most streamlined decks, if you can do that, then you know a thing or two about magic. Using someone else's deck does not require deep knowledge on the finer nuiances of the game, to know what works and more importantly, WHY. After deck building is taken out of the equation, you're most left with 'luck of the draw'. There is very little skill in the in-game decision making, the choices you make are usually obvious and only have a few each turn anyway. This isn't chess, where there are 18 possible moves in the first turn. ( I play chess BTW)
Don't get me wrong, I am by no means pro tier. I cannot make decks as refined as, say a mono red burn. I'm constantly swapping out cards, and I have a hard time stripping it down to 60 cards most of the time. My current best deck is 78 cards, however I've seen a few 200+card decks out there (don't really see the point but whatever). This is the area I struggle with the most, it's prioritizing. What do I want 4 of and what needs only 1?
Those who only play to win at all costs, or those who play aggro decks in order to grind out the daily rewards faster, you do realize that your opponent is also trying to grind it out? Playing a red burn deck makes it much harder for anyone else to grind especially because it seems like almost 50% of the people I play use this exact deck. I'm bloody tired of it.
Even if you think I'm an idiot and can't play because I can't beat this outrageous deck, you can't argue the fact that it's way too common online. This alone should send alarm bells that maybe it's popular for a reason, because it's that good. It would not be so common if it wasn't at least close to as good as I claim it is.
And lastly, if you're not playing tournaments, or money isn't on the line, then playing under the philosophy of "playing to win", is pointless. Why do people play games in the first place? Is it solely for the sake of winning? Or is it because they are fun to play?
We all know how good the red burn deck is. It's been played out a million times. Do something else if for no other reason than to mix things up and make things interesting again. Whatever you do, if you play me using a land destruction deck I will track you down and murder your whole family
What it's come down to is making a purely anti-red deck. Nothing but life gain and deck-out. I call it the "red can go **** itself" deck. It's my way of showing my middle finger to all the degenerate copy-cats who think they can play because someone else came up with the winning deck.
Okay rant over.
1-I have not played magic in over ten years and have only recently picked up Arena in the last 6 months. If people are referring to cards in the last few sets they might as well be talking chinese to me.
2-I refuse to use someone else's deck. My whole thing with magic is coming up with something no one else has done. It may not be the best deck in the world but it's mine and it's original, a concept that escapes some people.
3-I usually get to mythic tier after it resets within a few days. I know how to play magic, but it's not about winning at all costs. If it was, I have all the cards needed for that red burn deck but I refuse because to me it's like stealing someone's intellectual property.
4-A few people have suggested white weenie lifegain. I actually have a knight deck like that exactly. It kills many decks very quickly, but still loses to red burn because they just burn all the creatures and keep the train going with runaway steam kin and risk factor.
5-Gate decks are a joke. Seriously? Okay I will admit that when I first encountered this deck I thought It was OP, but then I figured that one out pretty quick. As a matter of fact I would even rate it as one of the worst cookie cutter decks that I've faced. Gate decks are way too slow for red burn.
6-I just wanted to make a point that I do, in fact, win most of my games. Most decks aren't too much of a problem. Mono Red burn is the only one that makes me rage because I never get a chance to do anything. Red having cheap burn alone isn't the problem, it's always been that way since 1994. The problem now In my honest opinion is that red has draw cards on par with blue, or arguably better because of the cheapness.
On a side note unrelated to the topic, I feel like green is kinda meh these days. Good as a support color but as a mono? Not so sure.
I deck I am using the most right now is your standard, classic blue/white control. The concept is nothing new but no one has a deck like mine. It's based around miriari Conjecture with tons of instants and sorcerys with counters, card draw,deck-out, sweeping spells and life gain. I ran into into a blue/red miriari conjecture deck and it gave me the inspiration. Out of all the decks I've made, this one has the most consistent wins. But then again, blue/white has always classically been a nasty combo.
Plainswalkers are new to me, and to be honest, I think they're a little unbalanced as a whole. I don't think you should be allowed to have more than 1 plainswalker in play at one time, but that's just my opinion.
The game as a whole got a lot more complicated from many years ago. There are too many synergies and triggers. Triggers in particular annoy me because I'm constantly clicking the resolve/resolve all button.
I've not memorized the names of all the current cards, but I remember what they do, so if you're replying to me listing various card names, either send a link to a picture or just tell me what it does.
1- it's a cookie cutter deck, down to the exact configuration. If you use this deck, congratulations! You copied someone else's idea! 90% of the skill involved is deck construction, you just completely took that out of the equation, because you have no soul, no originality, and no creativity.
2- the deck is a completely brain dead, one dimensional powerhouse. It can kill you by turn 3 or 4, kill all of your early creatures, and by the time you get bigger ones you're already dead.
3- no amount of life gain or creature control will stop the train. Red should not have better and faster card draw than blue. Risk factor is broken. Sure you can eat 4 damage, but the problem is that you're already taking a lot of direct damage anyway and most of the time can't afford the damage. So red basically gets a 3 mana-3 card draw with jump start. cheaper and more card draw than chemister's insight, one of blues best card draws. With so much cheap direct damage combined with awesome card draw, this deck is unstoppable. Or that red creature that gets +1's for casting red spells, and then dumping the counters for mana, for more cheap burn and card draw.
4- I have not come up with a single deck idea that can beat this. Nothing can weather the early storm, nothing, nada. Believe me when I tell you that I have dumped a ton of money into MTG arena and have over 10 different decks full of rares and mythics. Nothing can beat it. It's just flat out too fast.
5- 50% (at least) of the players I play online use this deck, to a tee. Need I say more? This deck is completely taking all the fun out, to the point where I will concede on turn 1 if I realize that they're playing this deck. What's the point in even trying? It's just a waste of time.
6-Red needs nerfs. Red didn't used to have so many cheap burn cards as they do now. I'm an old school magic player
Moved to Magic General from the Rumor Mill - Wildfire393